Edward Snowden Delivers ‘Final’ Bitcoin Warning: Here’s Why

Edward Snowden, the well-known whistleblower, reiterated his lengthy standing issues about Bitcoin’s privateness options, or the shortage thereof in a current put up on X. Snowden’s newest feedback emerge within the wake of a major announcement by the Wasabi Pockets crew regarding their resolution to discontinue their coinjoin coordination service, a cornerstone for enhancing person privateness on the Bitcoin community.

‘The Clock Is Ticking’ For Bitcoin, Says Snowden

Snowden expressed his frustration with the gradual tempo of privateness enhancements inside Bitcoin’s protocol. “I’ve been warning Bitcoin builders for ten years that privateness must be supplied for on the protocol degree. That is the ultimate warning. The clock is ticking,” Snowden posted on X, commenting on Wasabi Pockets’s announcement from yesterday.

I have been warning Bitcoin builders for ten years that privateness must be supplied for on the protocol degree. That is the ultimate warning. The clock is ticking. https://t.co/r7w7gdrHRp

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) May 2, 2024

Wasabi Pockets, developed by zkSNACKs, has been a pioneering resolution geared toward enhancing privateness for Bitcoin transactions by way of its coinjoin coordination service. Nonetheless, a current weblog put up by the Wasabi Pockets crew detailed their resolution to halt this service as of June 1, 2024.

“After years of relentless dedication to enhance Bitcoin’s privateness, zkSNACKs, the corporate pioneering the event of Wasabi Pockets, is shutting down its coinjoin coordination service,” the put up learn. The builders highlighted ongoing regulatory pressures and the necessity for authorized readability as key causes behind their resolution.

Regardless of discontinuing the coinjoin service, Wasabi Pockets will proceed to function as a traditional BTC pockets. The crew assured customers of continued privateness enhancements by way of different options like client-side filtering, Tor integration, and customized coin choice, although they acknowledged these measures don’t guarantee full privateness on their very own.

This improvement arrives amid rising scrutiny and authorized challenges going through crypto privateness instruments. Notably, New York federal prosecutors lately charged the founders of one other privacy-focused pockets, Samourai Pockets, with facilitating unlawful transactions value over $2 billion. This motion is a part of a broader crackdown by US authorities on wallets and mixers related to illicit actions.

Whereas Snowden has lauded Bitcoin in February because the “most vital financial advance for the reason that creation of coinage,” his issues about BTC built-in privateness have been constant. In November 2021, he lauded the developments made by Zcash, one other cryptocurrency identified for its sturdy privateness options.

He said, “Zcash meaningfully superior what cryptocurrency may DO, and that’s what I admired about it. And my major criticism of Bitcoin continues to be, so a few years later, that they haven’t addressed its huge on-chain privateness downside.”

In distinction, Samson Mow, a outstanding determine in selling nation-state adoption of Bitcoin, downplayed the importance of Wasabi’s announcement. Mow argued, “I don’t get why everyone seems to be crying about this. Wasabi is open-source. You’ll be able to run your individual coordinator too. That is just like the Pirate Bay saying they gained’t seed torrents anymore. Sure, good and sensible transfer.”

At press time, BTC traded at $61,900.

Featured picture from Literary Hub, chart from TradingView.com